Neymar will bounce back from World Cup hurt, says PSG coach

Neymar is a champion who will bounce back from Brazil's disappointing World Cup, according to new Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) coach Thomas Tuchel.

After missing the last two months of the Ligue 1 season with a fractured foot, Neymar returned for Russia 2018 but could not inspire Tite's side to glory.

Neymar scored twice at the World Cup but drew a blank in the quarter-final as five-time winners Brazil suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat at the hands of Belgium.

The forward was subsequently the biggest name left off the shortlist for FIFA's Best awards despite being the most expensive player in football history.

Neymar described Brazil's World Cup exit as the "saddest moment of my career" but Tuchel thinks PSG's star man will recover quickly from that setback.

"Everything impacts everything. I don't think he needed this to be extra motivated," Tuchel told reporters on Friday.

"Of course, the whole Brazilian team expected more. Of course, it affects your approach to the players. Everybody in the squad and the club we want to help them feel very good soon so that they can approach their next goals and not worry about what happened at the World Cup.

"He is a big player. He knows how to handle victories and he knows how to handle losses. In sport, you have challenges to bounce back. He will bounce back. He is a champion."

Neymar is yet to return to PSG duty and will not be available for their next pre-season game, an International Champions Cup clash against former head coach Unai Emery's new club Arsenal in Singapore on Saturday.

"Players will return on a day to day basis. There is a possibility to explain why different approaches for different players when it comes to returning," Tuchel said.

"Every player has his own history, some are experienced, some played the whole season, some played the whole World Cup, some didn't not play for the whole season, some were injured and some were not injured. There is not one day for every player to arrive.

"We have the solution to manage every player and it's very complicated for us. There is a lot of travelling and have to be very smart and manage the player through the first weeks. For us, the season starts very well. We take care of everybody individually. Everybody is happy and eager to come back.

"We believe everybody needs a certain time for rejuvenation after the demands of the season especially players who played several league games and World Cup without pause. Playing at that kind of level, we need to let the player rest."

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